Chapter 265: The eldest son
Li Jiancheng was silent for a moment. Selecting a crown prince was not a trivial matter. Moreover, the Eastern Palace could not have only the crown prince. It had a complete range of officials and guards, both civil and military, which was like a small court.

Of course, he was the founding monarch, so he was not afraid that the prince would threaten him. It was just that position, although honorable, was also a target and a troll.

How many princes in history were able to be appointed crown prince at a young age and then successfully ascend the throne to become emperor?
"Mother, is Yang Yong, the deposed crown prince of the Sui Dynasty, really that despicable?

Now that I think about it, although he is not as talented as Emperor Mingzhang, and his civil and military skills are not as good as Emperor Yangdi, if he could have succeeded to the throne smoothly, the Sui Dynasty would not have perished in the second generation. "

Dou was silent for a moment and said, "Although Yang Yong's weapon is not of the highest quality and his character is that of an ordinary person, he is not without talent or virtue, nor is he a violent person. He is capable of inheriting the country and passing it on to his descendants."

Li Jiancheng sat down beside his mother to shield her from the wind and whispered, "Why didn't he succeed to the throne smoothly? It was because the emperor, empress and court officials were too harsh on him, his brothers were eyeing him covetously, and his confidants were all vassals who wanted to gain wealth and power and could not share the same mind and purpose.

No matter what position you are in, any mistake you make will be magnified. Your brothers and sisters will keep a close eye on you and may even frame you. Even an adult may not be able to survive this torment, let alone a young child.

As for the Queen, she cherishes her eldest son now because he is her only child. In the future, she may favor her youngest son. She may not consider these things, but her son cannot help but worry about them.

To appoint a crown prince too early is almost always harmful and has no benefits, not only to the court, but even more so to the successor emperor."

Dou looked into the distance and said, "I won't see that day, but my son, if Chengzong has ordinary talents and virtues in the future, and there is an outstanding one among your princes, you..."

"This is what the Queen is worried about." Li Jiancheng said, "Since ancient times, the succession to the throne has been based on either the eldest son, virtue, or favoritism.

In the previous dynasty, Crown Prince Yang Yong was the eldest son and served in the imperial palace, Prince of Jin Yang Guang was famous for his virtue, and Prince of Han Yang Liang was favored by Emperor Wen and dominated the area.

Now it seems that perhaps the most reliable option is the eldest son. Virtue may be a pretense, and favoritism may cover up shortcomings, but only the eldest son cannot be faked.

Mother, as long as you have good moral character and are expected to be a ruler in the future, I will entrust you with the heavy responsibility of governing the country and pass the throne to the eldest son, so as to set a good example for my children and grandchildren."

"That's good, I feel relieved."

"Mom, don't worry about these trivial matters. Just enjoy yourself in Jiangdu."

...............

The emperor received countless talented people from the south of the Yangtze River in the palace, some of them were sons of noble families, some were children of poor gentry, some hermits living in the mountains, and some monks from the Guoqing Temple.

Many of them were directly appointed to official positions. Although the highest rank was only the sixth-rank Deputy Director of the Secretariat, all of them were real positions, rather than honorary positions in the Imperial College or the Hongwenguan as before.

This made people in Jiangnan extremely grateful, especially the scholars from poor families. You know, few of the famous families in Jiangnan had the opportunity to enter the court, let alone them.

According to common sense, the best situation is that when the aristocratic families occupy enough positions, some will be scattered through the gaps between their fingers and allowed to scramble for them.

But now, thanks to the special treatment from His Majesty, they actually have the opportunity to compete on an equal footing with the children of aristocratic families in front of the emperor.

This minimum equality has not been seen for hundreds of years.

However, the average level of children from aristocratic families is still much higher than that of children from poor families. Except for a few with outstanding talents, children from poor families are almost surrounded and crushed from all sides.

This also made Li Jiancheng see clearly in advance that even in his imperial examinations, scholars from poor families and common people could directly participate, but it would still be difficult for them to compete with the children of aristocratic families in the short term.

But this was also expected. A person who could stand out under such numerous difficulties would be able to become the pillar of the court to check and balance the aristocratic families with his support.

Moreover, with the development of national studies and county schools, the unification of classics and articles, and the printing of cheap paper books, the proportion of common people in the imperial examinations will increase.

In addition to a large number of talents, the emperor's harem was also enriched a lot, which was also a necessary measure to pacify Jiangnan.

At this time, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory also found a precious place in Leitang, north of Jiangdu, which was large enough to bury the emperor. Li Jiancheng summoned his ministers and said: "After searching for a long time, it is still in Jiangdu. It must be God's will, so let's move the burial place."

The ministers naturally had no objection, and Duke Yang You of Feng could only kowtow and express his gratitude.

The emperor ordered the Ministry of Works to start construction and the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the sacrifices. The relocation of the tomb also involved funeral arrangements.

Li Jiancheng said to the ministers, "Many of you were once ministers of Emperor Yang. Is there anyone willing to attend the funeral?"

The ministers were stunned for a moment, and then looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.

If I say I go, the emperor will inevitably suspect that I am still thinking about the previous dynasty, and if I am not careful, my family will be implicated.

If you just say you can't go, you will inevitably be criticized by the world as ungrateful.

But we can't all pretend to be dead now, otherwise it would be a serious crime to betray the king and father.

So they could only choose the lesser of two evils. Those who had served in the previous dynasty came out one after another to say that they would not go.

"Your Majesty, the previous dynasty has become a thing of the past, and Emperor Yang has been dead for several years. The people have been reborn, so it is better not to cause disputes."

After listening to this, the emperor said: "I think you should all go. It is never wrong to be loyal to the emperor. Being loyal to the old emperor or the new emperor is all about loyalty.

Emperor Yang was wrong and guilty, but God has punished him. I was once a minister of Emperor Yang, and I will go to his funeral.

My lords, if you can be loyal to your old lord, you will not forget the old favor. In the future, you will naturally not forget the new favor I have bestowed upon you. I hope that you will be grateful and loyal. "

"We are ashamed and thank you for your teachings, Your Majesty."

Soon, the news that the emperor would lead the former ministers to attend the funeral of Emperor Yang spread throughout Jiangnan, which made many people in Jiangnan quite grateful.

…………

In Liaodong, Zhang Huli looked at Baekje's internal law officer Ping Muqiao who was kneeling in front of him and said, "If you don't want to serve your country, why did you come to surrender?"

"The might of the Celestial Empire is hard to resist. For the sake of our family, we have no choice but to surrender."

Zhang Huli sneered and ordered his men to take him out and behead him without hesitation, which made Muqiao unbelievable.

"General, if you can protect my family, I am willing to offer my country to show my sincerity. Why is this so?"

Zhang Huli did not answer him. He only heard the unpleasant sound suddenly stop, and a moment later the bloody head was lifted up.

"Throw it into the city, and I'll see who dares to surrender!"

Over the past few months, the Tang army had several opportunities to capture the capital and destroy Baekje.

But Zhang Huli always called back his troops at the critical moment, because the more he fought, the more he realized that the soldiers in Liaodong were quite tenacious and brave, thanks to their growth in the bitter and cold land.

If more young and strong people were not killed, I wonder how many troops would be stationed in the Andong Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty to maintain stability.

...............

(End of this chapter)